Neon transformers should not kill you?

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Around a week ago I took down some neon tubes and transformers from my Dad’s car wash he sold (they are ripping it down to build a CVS).  I decided to test the transformers because my Dad said they didn’t work.  I also borrowed a transformer that worked from Greg to make sure the tubes were actually good.

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So I take the transformers out of their boxes and observed the connections but I am not really sure how to hook up the neon.  I searched around the interwebs and still could not figure it out.  The problem I am having is with the ground (green wire) and what it is connected to?

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The first step was to find a tube that worked using Greg working transformer.  I found a tube which lit up just fine.

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Next step: I tried 2 unknown transformers and got the same results, sparky fire looking things and the neon was not lit fully.  I then (this was a total mistake) grabbed both ends of the transformer (so the electricy could run all the way through my body) and shocked myself, then the neon was fully lit and there were no more sparks.  I did have it grounded on the plug though, the same as with the known working transformer.  So are my 2 transformers bad or the ground bad?  Not really sure.